The role of circadian disturbances in comorbid psychiatric and metabolic disorders:
Many patients with depression also suffer from metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, and vice versa. Due to the wide-ranging functions of circadian clocks, which affect virtually all bodily functions, it stands to reason that disturbance of the circadian system is a risk factor for the simultaneous development of these disorders. We investigate whether a specific disturbance of the clock favors the occurrence of several diseases and whether a stabilization of the circadian system can lead to an improvement of the diseases.
Alcohol Entrainable Oscillator:
The majority of alcohol-dependent patients report that their cravings for alcohol occur each day usually at a specific time of day when they are particularly at risk for relapse. We are investigating whether there is a specific neural network that determines the timing of cravings for alcohol (and other drugs) and whether these rhythms can be suppressed to reduce the daily risk of relapse.
Influence of circadian disturbances on the composition of molecular components in neurons.
Our data show that disturbance of the circadian system promotes vulnerability to stress and the development of depression. In our laboratory, we investigate the molecular consequences of the loss of circadian clocks in neurons, which may be related to the development of psychiatric disorders. The identification of cellular functions that are particularly affected by disturbances of the circadian system opens up the possibility of developing targeted therapeutic interventions to restore rhythms, on the one hand, and the development of pharmacological compounds that restore the functions of these cellular functions, on the other.
Identification of temporally synchronized neuronal networks.
The brain consists of a large number of regions with different tasks. It seems obvious that the functions of brain areas must be temporally synchronized to ensure optimal communication between them and to perform certain tasks depending on the time of day. We attempt to visualize the temporal synchronization between brain regions using deep electrode EEG measurements and thus identify networks of regions that are in communication with each other at specific times of the day. The discovery of such networks opens up a greater understanding of brain regions that are affected by changes of neuronal activity in patients with psychiatric disorders.
